Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-08-25
WRECKED AT THE n.y..

A Four-Story Signal Tower Raced to the
Ground.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17.-Of all the rail-
road accidents that have occurred on the
"Y" of the Baltimore & Ohio, that of this
morning was by far the most frightful and
complete. The limited express No. 4, due
from Chicago and Cincinnati at $50 a. M,
having two sleepers, two day coaches, two
baggage cars and one mail car attached to
the engine, ran away from the engineer at
Galeswood. The air brake broke and the
train came laundering along at a fearful
rate of speed.
CINE jumped the track carrying the train
with it. The tower, which was a four
story building, was cut from it's founda-
tions as if by razor.
The Engineer, Hamilton Brosius, of Bal
timore, was scalded to death. He was
taken into Mrs. Ellen Dents house, No.
6o2 Delaware avenue, where he died on
the floor two hours afterwards.
The fireman, named Smith, jumped
from the engine, and had his leg broken.
He is not expected to live.
Will Baxter, the operator employed in
the tower, saw the train and saved him
self by jumping out of the window and
catching in tree near by.
Joe Healy, boy employed in the tower,
was seriously hurt.
The news of the disaster spread through
the city rapidly, and thousands FASTENED
to the scene. 1t was almost the exact spot
where the fatal accident of the summer of
1884 occurred. When the crowd reached the
scene, the train lay stretched like a wound
ed snake extending from Fifth street, north
east, to Delaware avenue. The en-
CINE lay completely overturned and
smashed out of all resemblance to loco
motive. The tender was but mass of
iron bolts and bars. Fences, sheds, and
everything in it's track were swept away
before the irresistible rush of the iron mon
ster.
While the wreckers were at work re-
moving the debris everybody at the depot
was excited. Crowds of excursionists
from Luray, Harper's Ferry and Bay
Ridge filled the depot and street, all bent
on having good time. While the trains
were being made up engine No. s04 started
from the engine yard and jumped the
track in such a manner as to prevent the
other engines from getting out of the yard,
causing the excursionists some delay.
Many of the excursionists who visited the
depot and expected a good time were
frightened by the accident and returned
to their homes. Some of the passengers
on the wrecked train also returned to their
Western homes instead of continuing their
journey to the East.
The work at the wreck continued all day
long. There was much excitement On ac-
count of reports that there were still
persons buried under the debris.
Mr.. Legge, the general superintendent Of
the road in this city, was on the scene
early Investigating the accident. He said
the accident was due undoubtedly to
failure of the air brakes to work. Mr..
Legge was at noon confident that all the
passengers had been accounted for, and
that there was no one buried ir the debris.
There were seven people in the st. Louis
sleeper and nine Or ten in the Chicago
sleeper, but no one in these cars was in
jured seriously.
Mrs. Augusta Bond, a lady on her way to
her home in Germany, had her head badly
cut and lost considerable money and her
tickets to New York and Germany. She
was removed to Providence Hospital.
Charles Kok, who, with his wife and
three small children, was from Cincinnati
on his way to Germany, was seriously hurt
across the small of the back, and his in
juries may prove fatal. His wife and
children were not hurt. He is also at
Providence Hospital.
Joe Healy, who was injured by the ac-
cident, is much worse this afternoon. and
not expected to live.
Many explanations of and theories to
account for the accident are given by rail-
road men. One says that when the train
was about three miles outside the city the
eccentric lever of the engine became
damned and the engineer was, therefore,
unable to work the throttle or reverse the
link motion. Another says that the con-
ductor and engineer both said when thirty
miles away, that the air brakes were out
of order. Another explanation given is
that the engineer became frightened at the
speed he had on when passing the "Y )"
and reversed his engine, and the momen.
tum of the cars behind literally forced it
from the track.
A railroad man says: s"The engineer,
Mr.. Brosius, stuck to his post, and when
found the steam was blowing from the
lubricator into his face. He was one of
the best known engineers on the road,
having been in the employ of the company
for more than twenty-five years, and was
regarded as one of the most careful. He
was a single man, and boarded on Barre
street in Baltimore"
It was stated at the station-hous by
two ladies that he intended in short time
to retire and marry young lady of this
city, The train to which the accident oc-
Cured was what is known as the Cincin-
natl, st. Louis and Chicago express. 1t was
one of the fast through trains of the Balti.
more & Ohio road. The conductor was
George Wheeler, an old railroad hand.
The train was composed of seven cars,
an express car, a postal car, a baggage
car, a smoker, an ordinary passenger
coach and two sleepers, one from Chicago,
the other from st. Louis. AS near as
could be gathered from the trainmen,
there were about fifty passengers on the
train. Coroner Patterson was on the
scene Of the wreck during the day arrang-
ing for an inquest, which will probably be
held tomorrow.
ALI of the patients, it was stated at the
hospital this evening, are doing well, and
1t is not thought there that the injuries Of
any of them will prove fatal. These cases,
with those of Baxter, Healy, Thomas, Mrs.
Benson and Carroll Cook, also reported to
have been injured, make altogether
eighteen people disabled by the wreck.
There were others who received slight
bruises and scratches, and who walked
away from the wreck taking care of them
selves.
The signal-tower, which was demolished
in the accident, was a structure twenty
two feet square and thirty-fve feet high.
The Pacific Railway Investigation.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1.-THE Pacific
Railway Commission received from Secre-
tary Miller, of the Central Pacific, yester-
day, a statement of the land grant bonds,
showing that SIC, 000, 900 worth were issued
for which $s,s44,0O0 was realized. The